How about a comprimise. Lalas can still play at a descent level and could be a factor in the air against any team BUT we need someone with better skills and speed than him to be a USMNT regular. The idea is worth talking about and if Lalas could pick his game up a few notches maybe he could be considered. But if you watch him play MLS games you can see quite a few mistakes over the course of the year that indicate he is not good enough to be our country's best representitive. I wish Lalas would find a pair of Jaap Stam super underwear to help us out but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation cause it ain't gonna happen.
With Reyna focusing on his club now, there's a vacuum of leadership on the Nats. ALEXI FOR CAPTAIN!!!!!
- Career high in points - Defense has been built around him as they make a stretch run People laughed, but Alexi looks like he at least deserves a call up. If a stiff like Corey Gibbs who is playing in BL2 is in such demand by people here at times, why not a guy leading his team and having one of the best years of his career?
I must say he does look to be in top form. If he's willing to play now, but not have a guarantee about 2006, why not call him up? He seems to be, I don't know, more serious about soccer now. Does he still play in a band?
Truth serum. The rationale is this - whenever anyone even signs for a team in Europe, they are automatically considered Nat material by many people here. But when a guy plays consistently well in MLS, well, they don't always get the same consideration. I picked Gibbs out of a hat. But he's in BL2 and I'm sure the bandwagon will be fired up when he's back from injury. But even if he's the best defender in BL2, doesn't that make him another Cherundolo, who was one of the best defenders in BL2 last year? And what was Cherundolo? The 25th man on the team. Why is it hard to fathom that a guy playing exceedingly well in MLS is worse than the 25th player. I'm not calling for ALexi to captain the team in 2006, just asking that people look objectively atthe situation and say, "Yea, he's playing well, and we need people who are playing well to be on the national team."
Go Lalas Alexi seems to be playing great for LA. I believe that there are certain types of teams against which he could be a significant asset for our National Team. Teams which play the ball in the air a lot and use a "target" forward strategy. He has always been stronger at defending against an aerial attack as opposed to quick short passing/dribbling type team. He was not actually bad (quite good in fact) at tackling just stronger in the air. I honestly feel that he is one of the finest defenders my nation has ever produced. Of course he continues to be an impressive threat on attacking set pieces as well, I believe that he has an impressive number of international goals. Finally, Alexi has always played with the heart of a lion, he seems to be a natural leader and he NEVER allows any of his team mates to get pushed around. I really wish he had been on the field against Germany in 98. He is also very near 100 caps and it would be a nice thing for him to reach that magic number, he has given a great deal to US Soccer. In the interest of full disclosure I must confess that he is my all time USMNT Favorite.
Monster, I hope you realize my post was in jest. That said, I will try to answer some of the points you bring out in your post. First of all, I think people don't seriously consider Lalas both in this thread and in general not because he plays in MLS, but because of his age. So I think you are arguing against a straw man here. Many people are just as eager to see a player like Ryan Suarez get a call to the team as they are Gibbs or Dolo. In fact, I'd bet more posters want to see Suarez than there are posters who want to see Gibbs and Dolo combined. The reason why is BECAUSE he is playing so well in MLS. The other aspect you don't bring up here are fans who confuse a player's potential with current reality. People see Gibbs perform reasonably well, certainly not great, his first year in the Bundesliga, see how young he is, and get excited about his future prospects. That's fine. When it turns into folly is when they confuse those prospects with how he is truly performing right now. The truth is that right now Gibbs is not ready, nor was he ready last year, for a call-up to the MNT. What "might be" and "what is" are two seperate realities, and people around here need to do a better job of distinguishing between the two. Cherundolo, IMO, is a totally different case than Gibbs. The main reason being is that in the Right Back position during the last WC cycle, we had nobody who secured that job until Sanneh took hold at the very end and into the cup. It was one of the worst weaknesses of the team, as Arena himself identified when asked about Cherundolo's call-up. "Well, he's a right back," said Arena. Arena was referring to the reality that at that time, the US didn't have one. The Left Back position at the time was Regis' to lose, and he eventually did after dismal performances directly preceeding the WC. Gibbs was not ready, and even if he was, there were players in front of him capable of filling his position. Not the case with Dolo. BTW, I believe Dolo will be Arena's starting RB in upcoming competitions, and it will be his job to lose before the next WC.
I like Alexi as much as the next guy. But he was too slow in 1998, and 4 years later an improved national team finds him still too slow. He was never that skilled to begin with, and he got beat like a drum by Costa Rica time and time again. He's always been good in the air, and he has always played his heart out, but this is no longer enough. His time has passed.
Who's to say you can't have Suarez and Lalas on a team with Lalas helping show the kid the ropes. I can't believe we're discounting a guy who' splaying exceedingly well based on how old he is and crap like that. I'm sure if the database were resurrected, we'd find plenty of posts from people currently arguing against Lalas stressing the need to focus on players in form. Alexi is in form. And my comments about DOlo and Gibbs were not in jest. People here fall too far in love with the young flavor of the month. Lalas is playing very well and it's killing people to admit it.
Shouldn't there be a law requiring a player's agent to to give full disclosure of his relationship prior to posting threads like this on internet bulletin boards?